The star of “Nitro Circus” and an 11-time X-Games gold medalist, the world-famous action sports star and Rally champion sits 12th in the Nationwide standings after the first four races with his focus to stock-car racing.

“I’m having an awesome time,” Pastrana said after Bristol. “It’s more fun to win. I’m a very competitive person. I enjoy the challenge. This is a big one for me.”

The challenge is three years in the making, delayed in part by a shattered right ankle that benched him for five months.

He finished 10th in Daytona but then hit the wall on just the second lap to finish 28th at Phoenix. He responded with a momentum-building moment as he drove starting 31st to finishing 10th at Las Vegas and followed that with 16th at Bristol.

So far, team owner Jack Roush has liked what he has seen.

“Travis has done a real nice job,” Roush said. “It’s hard to put together a program for somebody that’s not really driven (stock cars) that not much that can be at the level that he’s used to being at in all the other things he’s done.”

Pastrana is a year behind his NASCAR plan as he shattered his right ankle in the X-Games a couple of days before his scheduled Nationwide debut in July 2011.

The surgeries and rehab cost him time and funding, limiting him to just those handful of races last year. Now he’s feeling good to go. He had shoulder surgery last fall, and he’s mostly recovered from that, too.

“My shoulder, I’m not quite to 100 percent as far as being able to take the trash out or anything, but I just did my first Rally test and it was the first Rally car drive I’ve done in over two years that my shoulder didn’t pop out,” Pastrana said.

Pastrana said the only thing he will need to do health-wise is increase his endurance for the hot summer months.

“For me, I’m definitely on the right track,” Pastrana said. “My knee is good. My ankle is good. They’re not like running good, but in a NASCAR car or Rally car, I have no ill effects and I’m finally healthy enough to be able to compete as hard as I want without thinking about it.”

That’s good because Pastrana now has more to think about in the car than maybe he has in the past. Everything is new, and when he starts going to tracks for the second time, he will need to remember what the car needs in that spot.

He has been staying for most of the Cup races on Sundays to learn more.

“I would love go back now to the first practice and know how I need to drive it now to be competitive and set the car up like that,” Pastrana said after Bristol.

“This is my first in a Nationwide car at a lot of these tracks throughout the year. Hopefully when we come back here, I’ll know where we need to go. … If I ever want to go for a championship, I’m going to need to get these laps. I’m happy to have the laps and not crash out.”

He won’t always be happy, though, with 16th.

“Sixteenth is not my goal—it’s not where I was hoping to end up,” Pastrana said. “Two top-10s (in the first four races) are probably better than I was expecting to end up.”

Those two top-10s will give him respect with any fans who doubt his seriousness. The drivers already had respect for Pastrana, as many are fans of action sports.

“The other drivers have always been great,” Pastrana said. “Now that I’m running full time, I’ll probably make a few more enemies along the way. (But) everybody has been awesome to me.

“Every driver has respect for other drivers in other fields and every athlete really does. There’s a mutual respect, which is awesome (for me) coming in as a complete outcast, the guys were willing to help.”

They might not be as willing to help as Pastrana continues to improve and possibly battle them for top finishes.

That might seem a little far-fetched considering Pastrana just has dabbled in stock cars the last couple of years, but his resume and competitive drive show the potential that can’t be ignored.